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Homegrown lifestyle brand Bench picked Randolph Santos, Jayson Aguilar Glarino and Jennifer Anne Contreras as winners of the Bench Design Awards 2017. The young designers will present their respective collections at Amazon Tokyo Fashion Week on Oct. 19.
The design contest, held at the Playground of Bench Tower in Taguig City last Sept. 10, gathered promising Filipino fashion designers to showcase their craft and signature styles. It was held in partnership with the organizers of Amazon Tokyo Fashion Week.
Aside from Santos, Glarino and Contreras, other finalists were Karla Beatrice Samson, Maria Esmeralda Palaganas, Carlo Angelo Niu, Wilson Limon Jr., Diorelle Sy, Christian Edward Dalogaog and Yves Camingue.
‘Borders,’ ‘Eroplanong Papel’
Bench Design Awards 2017 was the culmination of the Bench Fashion Week Holiday 2017 program. The brand is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
Santos’ collection, “Borders,” featured Led Zeppelin’s rock ‘n’ roll style, while Glarino’s collection, “Eroplanong Papel,” evoked purity and innocence.
Contreras drew inspiration for her “Problem Child” collection from Romina Ressia’s photographs.
Samson’s “Real/Unreal” used highly saturated colors and three-dimensional textures. Palaganas’ “Babang Luksa” was based on the film “Schindler’s List,” and was also a statement on what’s happening in local current events.
Niu’s “45” endorsed the idea of “beauty with an edge” with drama and darkness. Limon’s “Hinahabing Panaginip” was a hybrid of T’boli and Bagobo Tagabawa’s weaves.
Sy’s “By Order Of…” was a nod to traditional menswear with sharp suits, crisp shirts and bold trousers with oversized jackets strongly influenced by the 1920s and 1930s gangs.
Dalogaog’s collection was a love letter to Hong Kong, exhibiting the multicultural identity, modernity and romanticism of its urban life.
Camingue’s collection explored the concept of spiritual tourism.
Bench founder and chair Ben Chan led the board of judges, which included Filipino model and AMFT Philippines project consultant Tetta Ortiz-Matera and representatives of Amazon Tokyo Fashion Week Akiko Shinoda, Mitsugo Sudo, Hideya Yokoi and Yoshio Yokobori.
The event was hosted by Iya Villania-Arellano.
